Cats are Unapologetically Themselves. Why Can’t We Do the Same?

Wake up! Wake up! Soon the person you believe you are will die – so now, wake up and be content with this knowledge: there is no need to search; achievement leads to nowhere. It makes no difference at all, so just be happy now! – Dan Millman

I’ve been unemployed for a touch over two months now. During this time, I have nursed both this website and a crippling quarter life crisis that has crept towards me like a riptide. My mind is heavy with a blanket of aggravating “shoulds:” what I should be doing with my time, which jobs I should be applying for, how many followers I should have by now, where I should direct my life, and ultimately who I should be.

This is no way to live: I’ve been so suffocated by these expectations that are regulated by no one but myself. It took a debilitating stomach virus to force me to actually be myself. I was too sick to concentrate on my usual tasks, so I simply did things to elevate my mood. It brought me some much-needed perspective. I couldn’t eat any cheese for two entire days, so I filled the void with one of my very first and often neglected loves: film. I watched 7 films, and I didn’t think of what was a better use of my time. I just was. And it was glorious.

Wading in this sea of shoulds will lead you nowhere; you will tread in this heavy water until you reach the brink of exhaustion and eventually drown in your own anxieties and misery. But you have the power to change all of that and live in the moment. When you feel stuck in those thick, dark waters, just stop for a moment and breathe deeply. Concentrate on everything that is happening in this moment, your moment. Listen, feel, taste, and react to everything that’s around you.

You are you already and you are beautiful. Don’t waste that. Just be you. Happiness is here, where you are now, so snatch it up and hold it close before it’s too late.

Check out these great films now streaming on Netflix, starting with my favorite:

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night Vampire horror from Iran.

The Chef’s Table Documentary series highlighting Michelin-starred chefs around the world